November 22nd, 2010

AGREEMENT FORM: OPTICALMICROSCOPY COREPOLICIES

General Policies: Please read carefully and initial beside each paragraph.For work involving infectious materials (BSL2 and BSL3), additional requirements apply, please contact Dr Leoncio Vergara for information.

-Regular hours of operation are from 8:30am until 5:30 pm. Assistance is available from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm.

-Use of the facilities after hours and onweekendsand holidays is available to expert users who have been authorized by the OMC management.

-All users must have completed and signed the project application, policy agreement and account registration forms before using the facility.

-All users are encouraged to schedule an initial meeting with the OMC staff to discuss project details and to get a general orientation about the facility operation and resources.

-Users should always schedule appointmentsin advancevia an e-mail sent to Dr. AdrianaPaulucci or Dr. Leoncio Vergara. Walk ins will only be accepted if there is an instrument and assistance available.

-Users are required to complete and sign the log sheet on eachvisit. This includes time spent utilizing image analysis workstations. The log times should account for the totaltime the equipment is dedicated to the user, not just the actual image acquisition time.

-Users are required to finish their sessionbefore the appointment of the next user starts, even if the appointment started with a delay.

-Independent users are responsible for proper operation of the equipment to avoid damage or loss of performance.They are also expected to keep the working areas safe and organized. Failure to keep up with this responsibility may results in loss of independent work privileges or access to the facility altogether.

-Users should not disassemble or replace equipment parts or clean optics by themselves, other than removing excess oil according to training instructions.

-Spills and accidents should be reported immediately.

About Sample Preparation:

-At the start of each appointment, OMC staff will inspect samples to determine their ability to be adequately imaged. If samples are not able to be effectively imaged, the appointment may be cancelled. We encourage users to discuss sample preparation with OMC staff in order to avoid these situations.

Training and independent use of equipment

-The OMC staff will authorize some users to work alone on some of the microscopes and workstations. If you are not an authorized user, assistance is required.

-If you wish to be authorized to work independently on a specific instrument,please request basic training. After basic training is completed you will be required to demonstrate proficiency in the operation of the instrument and also pass a practical test related to the equipment. Additional training sessions will be required for techniques not covered in the basic training (e.g. FRET, FRAP, live cell imaging, etc).

-After 3 months of non utilization of an instrument, refresher training and reassessment of skills are required.

Data storage: It is the sole responsibility of each investigator to copy and backup their data. OMC personnel are not responsible for data storage and integrity, even if loss occurs due to hardware, software or human error.

-Temporary files should only be stored in folders designated for the user. Unidentified data will be erased.

-Users should remove data and images immediately after each session from the OMC image acquisition and analysis computers.

-Users are allowed to keep 2 files in the image acquisition computers to be used as templates if needed.

-Data older than one month, excepting the templates mentioned above, will be automatically erased from OMC computers

-Users are responsible for keeping a copy of the original native files acquired from the microscopes. The OMC will not keep these files.

Billing

-Before using the OMC resources, eachprincipal investigator is required to complete the account registration form listing a valid FRS account number and the names of all the users covered under that account.

-All laboratories are required to bring a valid new FRS number 15 days before the expiration date of the current FRS number.

-Principal investigators are responsible for providing a new form each time a new user is added or removed from the list (for example graduate students in rotation).

Cancellation Policy:

-If an appointment must be cancelled, or if the user will arrive late, please notify the OMC staff in advance so that another user can make use of the time.

-All notifications of cancellations or delays must be done by e-mail to Dr. Paulucci or Dr. Vergara (whoever you are working with) at or before 12 pm (noon) on the business day preceding the appointment.

-If a delay of 30 minutes occurs, the OMC reserves the right to cancelthe appointment and give the time to another user.

Users that consistently violate the policy stated above may lose the privilege of scheduling time in advance.

IMPORTANT- Any damage that is caused to the machines that is clearly consequence of bad usage of the equipment is supposed to be fully covered by PI responsible on that particular project.

By signing this form you are accepting the OMC facility policies and conditions.

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Print user’s name User’s signature and date

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Print PI’s name PI’s signature and date

November 22nd, 2010

User Fees and Charges

OMC Services
Business
hrs / Non-Business
hrs
Zeiss LSM510 confocal 10th floor (1) / $45 / $36
Zeiss LSM510 confocal 4th floor (1) / $45 / $36
Olympus Fv1000 confocal and multiphoton GNL BSL2 (2) / $75 / NA
Olympus Fv1000 confocal and multiphoton GNL BSL3 (2) / $75 / NA
Prairie Tech Live-cell Confocal (2)(3) / $75 / NA (3)
Nikon TIRF (2) / $75 / NA
BD Biosciences High-throughput Live-cell confocal (3) / $45 / $36
Nikon TE200 radiometric imaging / $20 / $16
Nikon E800/TE300 / $15 / $12
Image analysis workstations / $10 / $8
Assistance and Training / $30 / NA

(1) Fees listed are for instrument use only; assistance is charged as an additional fee

(2) These systems are not available for independent use, assistance is included in the fee.

(3)These systems are capable of long-term automated image capture runs (time-lapse, multi-well plate screenings). For sessions lasting 6 hrs or more, special arrangements can be made in terms of fees and after-hours access.